Aaron Armstrong's Blog, page 400
November 14, 2011
Inerrancy, Inspiration and Authority: A Clearing of the Throat
Recently, I wrote about whether or not it matters if Paul wrote the pastoral epistles. As I briefly explained, what we believe about these letters is a huge issue, particularly in how it impacts our view of the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture. As I wrote previously:
So, if Paul didn't write these letters, then they would be falsified documents that would have been unwelcome in the early church.
Why? Because they would contain a lie.
More than that, they would be based upon a lie. And if...
November 13, 2011
Around the Interweb
Tim Challies offers an article that's well worth reading:
Today it seems that unity, and especially unity from one group of professed Christians to another, often comes at the cost of theology. In his masterpieceEvangelicalism Divided Iain Murray says "The ecumenical call [in the mid-20th century] was not for truth and salt; it was supremely for oneness: the greater the unity of 'the Church', it was confidently asserted, the stronger would be the impression made upon the...
November 12, 2011
When Men Counsel Women
I found this discussion between David Powlison and Nancy Guthrie on the need for counselors to find a balance between helpful safeguards and unhelpful rigidity that undermines the potential for fruitful interactions between men and women.
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HT: TGC
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Is There More Mercy in the Stream Than in the Spring?
Physicians, though they put their patients to much pain, will not destroy nature, but raise it up by degrees. Surgeons will lance and cut, but not dismember. A mother who has a sick and self willed child will not therefore cast it away. And shall there be more mercy in the stream than in the spring? Shall we think there is more mercy in ourselves than in God, who plants the affection of mercy in us?
But for further declaration of Christ's mercy to all bruised reeds, consider the comfortable...
November 11, 2011
What's On Your To-Read Pile?
Here's a look at a few things I'm reading right now:
What are you reading this weekend?
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The Inauguration of a New Form of Life
Right now I'm reading a great book by Matthew Anderson (of MereOrthodoxy.com) called Earthen Vessels: Why Our Bodies Matter to Our Faith. Here's a quick reason why:
Our "union with Christ" is the inauguration of a new form of life. When we hear and believe the good news that our sins have been washed away by the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ, the patterns and habits of our lives will never be left alone. That change in our status, wherein we transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the...
November 10, 2011
Does it Matter if Paul Didn't Write the Pastoral Epistles?
Yesterday, I read a short blog post asking the question of whether or not Paul actually wrote the Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2 Timothy and Titus) and if it matters. A large number of New Testament scholars, including I.H. Marshall, reject Pauline authorship of these books (an argument that's really only emerged in the last 200 years) for a variety of reasons, primarily due to differences in style, vocabulary, ecclesiology and theology (although these last two in particular are overstated).
But a b...
November 9, 2011
Christian Scholars in the Secular Academy
Really enjoying these discussion videos from the Gospel Coalition. In this video, Michael Horton and Richard Lints explain why it's so important for Christians to study in non-Christian schools. Take a look:
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HT: TGC
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Choosing a New Preaching Bible
Roughly four years ago, I purchased my first ESV Bible. It was one of the Thinline editions, with a black spine and brown front face. I read from that Bible on a daily basis, taught through Mark's gospel with it in our home group, took it on vacations and preached my first sermon with it.
After four years, my Bible had started to look pretty beat up, the way God intended—lots of underlining, crinkled pages and what may or may not have been some minor water damage. It was well read and well...
November 8, 2011
Book Review: Gospel Wakefulness by Jared C. Wilson
What's the thing that's supposed to captivate Christians, above all else? What should motivate us to greater heights of joy, to greater levels of confidence and boldness in our daily lives? The gospel. For the Christian, there's no better news than the good news of Jesus' perfect life, death and resurrection. Nothing comes close. So why is it that we seem kind of ambivalent to it—as it it were something that we need to hear once and then can move on to "bigger and better things"?
What's...
